The Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security’s mission is to promote the national security by advancing our understanding of terrorism and the means to combat it through research, teaching, and developing partnerships between universities, industry and government. Learn more.

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On Wednesday, February 18th world leaders gathered for a summit at the White House to discuss how counter violent extremism. TCTHS director David Schanzer discussed the White House’s efforts on San Francisco’s NPR on Thursday, February 19th saying, “One thing that is ignored when we kind of talk about all these themes that are going on in the conference, a lot of the problem is that a lot of this is motivated by the west and its role in the Middle East. It is greatly protested. U.S. foreign policy and western foreign policy and a lot of the interventions that we’ve done. And so unfortunately, the issues that President Obama is mentioning only deal with part of the root causes.” To hear Schanzer’s interview on San Francisco’s NPR, click here.

Report shows most U.S. terrorism cases last year involved foreign fighters going to Syria

This is the sixth annual report on Muslim-American terrorism suspects and perpetrators published by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security. “Over the 13 years since 9/11, the US government’s counterterrorism efforts have identified 109 Muslim-Americans plotting against targets in the United States. […] Two thirds of the domestic plots were disrupted early, with weapons or explosives provided by undercover agents or informants,” Kurzman explains in the report. “US plots remain rare and unsophisticated,” he continues, “while small numbers of Muslim-Americans continue to be indicted for terrorism-related offenses, the publicly-known cases of domestic plots does not suggest large-scale growth in violent extremism or more sophisticated planning and execution than in recent years.

Audio: Responding to the Terrorist Attack in Paris

On Wednesday, TCTHS director David Schanzer spoke on air with Scott Briggaman on WPTF about the massacre at Charlie Hebdo in Paris. The deadly attack left twelve dead early Wednesday morning in an attack on the magazine office, while the manhunt for the suspected killers continues. To hear the full segment, listen below.

David Schanzer and Charlie Dunlap comment on the Senate Committee on Intelligence’s decision to disclose new details about the CIA’s interrogation methods. The report released Monday, December 9, 2014 has been a lightning rod for criticism.

Dunlap, Duke University law professor, a retired Air Force major general and an expert on warfare policy and strategy, says, “While I haven’t seen the report, media accounts suggest that it will give more grist to those already hostile to U.S. interests. A lot of people will ignore the fact that America’s interrogation policies have long since changed because doing so will fit the narrative that they want to believe about the U.S. today. And they won’t pay any attention to those who are saying, as some already are, that the report is deeply flawed.”

Audio: Assessing Ash Carter’s Nomination for Secretary of Defense

On Wednesday, TCTHS director David Schanzer spoke on air with Scott Briggaman on WPTF about Ashton Carter’s nomination for Secretary of Defense. Schanzer also commented on the current challenges the new secretary will face in taking office. Notably, Schanzer pointed to the Middle East saying, “We have multidimensional chess going on in the Middle East right now.” To hear the full segment, listen below.

Video: Triangle Center Faculty Discuss Guantanamo and Interrogation

Tim Nichols from Duke University spoke with TCTHS director David Schanzer and student participants about the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and the use of interrogation in US counterterrorism efforts. Click here to watch.

Video: A Public Discussion on the Middle East in Turmoil

With a war raging in Syria that’s spilled over into Iraq, militant groups jockeying for attention and control, and a sobering post-Arab Spring reality that’s seen traditional alliances upended, political Islam scrutinized, and dissent stifled, four Duke faculty members will put the latest developments and their relevance for America in perspective. What’s next for the Middle East? Panelists including TCTHS director David Schanzer discussed the current situation in the Middle East in a public talk Monday, October 27.

Video: Expert on the Psychology of Terrorism John Horgan Argues No Single Pathway to Terrorism

On Thursday, the TCTHS hosted John Horgan, one of the foremost experts on the psychology of terrorism. In a joint ISLAMiCommentary interview with director David Schanzer, the two discuss the news and commentary coming out about the suspected gunman in Wednesday’s attacks in Ottawa — including that he was a Muslim convert — and speculation about his connection to international terrorist groups.

While the two scholars agreed that yesterday’s attacks can’t come as a complete surprise to Canadian national security experts, they cautioned about the need for restraint by journalists and pundits in the characterization of the suspect and coverage of yesterday’s events.

Responding to 9/11: Counterterrorism Policy in the 21st Century Course Now Open for Registration

This course will examine and evaluate the counterterrorism policies pursued by the United States in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The core learning goal will be for student to learn how to think strategically – that is, to determine what the key objectives the U.S. has been pursuing, critically evaluate whether the policies that have been put in place are achieving these objectives, and consider whether and how these policies should be modified to better meet the U.S.’s strategic goals. Students will have the opportunity to examine counterterrorism policies in three different areas: the use of military force (Afghanistan, Iraq and drones), intelligence and law enforcement authorities (interrogation of enemy combatants, electronic surveillance and government access to data), and homeland security (aviation security and countering violent extremism policy). Each of these topics will require students to grapple with not only questions of efficacy, but also legality and morality.

Counterterrorism Experts Speak at Duke

Fran Townsend and Daniel Benjamin discussed “The Evolving Threat of Terrorism – What Should be Done?” in front of a packed audience last Wednesday, 10 September. The two experts elaborated on concerns about ISIS hours before President Obama addressed the nation, outlining potential options on how the U.S. could respond. For more on the event, click here.

President Obama addresses the nation about U.S. policy toward ISIL 9/10/14.

Schanzer discusses Syrian conflict with Voice of Russia Radio

On Friday, September 12, TCTHS director David Schanzer responded to questions from Moscow’s Voice of Russia Radio about the effect the new U.S. strategy in Syria will have. In the segment, Schanzer discusses Obama’s strategy to destroy ISIS and U.S. intentions for Syria.

WUNC: Nichols Says “Take a Deep Breath” on ISIS

National security expert LT COL Tim Nichols (USMC RET) appeared on WUNC’s “The State of Things” today to discuss President Obama’s plan to confront the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Nichols discussed the Islamic State and the American response outlined in the president’s address to the nation last night.

Schanzer and Nichols: ‘Cool Down the Rhetoric’ on ISIS

TCTHS director David Schanzer and fellow national security expert LT COL Tim Nichols (USMC RET), address the U.S.’s response to the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in their jointly-written op-ed for ISLAMiCommentary. Schanzer and Nichols played down the ISIS threat to the homeland and urged the US to build an international coalition. “What we cannot do is let fear and hyperbole lead us into the trap that ISIS is setting for us. Like al Qaeda before it, ISIS is eager to draw America into a conflict in the Middle East and satisfy its bloodlust on American targets in its own backyard.”

Schanzer and Nichols said it is time to “cool down the rhetoric (especially the quasi-religious references to the ‘gates of hell’), beef up what we need to do to protect the homeland from returning fighters, and build an enduring coalition to confront ISIS and other extremist organizations.”

Upcoming Event: Wednesday, September 10

“The Evolving Terrorist Threat: What Should be Done?”

Fleishman Commons, Sanford School, Duke University

The 2014 Robert R. Wilson Lecturethis year will be a discussion between two leading counterterrorism experts from the Bush and Obama administrations. Fran Townsend, former chair of the Homeland Security Council for the George W. Bush administration, and Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, principal counterterrorism advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will discuss the changing terrorist threats. TCTHS director David Schanzer (@schanzerdavid) will moderate.

This event is free and open to the public. Parking will be available in the Science Drive Visitors lot ($5/vehicle, cash only). For more information or media inquiries, please contact Alexandra Pfadt (alp44@duke.edu).

“Israel Can’t Afford to Lose More Jews Like Me.”

In his response to Shmuel Rosner’s op-ed in The New York Times, TCTHS director David Schanzer pushes back against Rosner’s claim that non-Israeli liberal Jews are “fair-weather fans” when it comes to supporting Israel. Schanzer defends Israel’s incursion into Gaza to seal off the tunnels and punish those behind the rocket launches, but criticizes the IDF’s “lack of strategic vision.” Click here for the full article.

A Call for Change to the National 9/11 Memorial Museum al-Qaeda video

TCTHS director David Schanzer calls for changes to the National 9/11 Memorial Museum al-Qaeda video. Schanzer says, “There is a way to talk about 9/11 that accurately reflects the religion of the perpetrators, explains why they attacked, and avoids conflating the religion of Islam with the ideology of al-Qaeda extremism. It is not too late for the museum to back down and achieve all of these important goals.” “To devise an acceptable way to talk about 9/11, we have to be guided by certain truths,” he says, and problems arise when we fail to make these important distinctions.” Read the full article here.

“Uncovering the Face of Homegrown Terrorism” on Huffington Post Live

e growing threat of homegrown terrorism. As law enforcement become adept at identifying terrorists outside the U.S., how do we stop the extremists in our own backyard? Listen in live at 1:35pm as TCTHS director David Schanzer participates in “Uncovering the Face of Homegrown Terrorism.”

Year after Boston bombing, it’s clear that threat of homegrown terrorism overhyped

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing one year ago Tuesday, many commentators and public officials called this

Photo by John Tlumacki — Associated Press

tragedy a harbinger of more homegrown terrorist attacks to come.While

only one year has passed, much of this concern appears to have been hyperbole, says TCTHS director David Schanzer and Charles Kurzman. Read the full article here.

“Time for Full Disclosure of CIA Interrogations,” says TCTHS Director

In his article “Time for Full Disclosure of CIA Interrogations” published in The Huffington Post, David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, says it is time for the CIA “to come clean, move on, and let history be the judge.” “There is no undoing this damage,” Schanzer says, “the best that can be done is to stop the bleeding and manage the consequences.” Read the full article here.

Despite Boston, Number of Muslim-American Terrorists Remains Low

The TCTHS announces the fifth annual report on Muslim-American terrorism suspects and perpetrators written by Charlie Kurzman. “Despite concerns that the Boston Marathon bombing or the civil war in Syria might lead to an upsurge of violence in the United States, the number of Muslim-American terrorism plots remained low in 2013,” said the author of the report, Charles Kurzman, a professor of sociology at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “Foreign terrorist organizations continued to have difficulty recruiting Muslim-American communities.”

Staying Off the Snowden Bandwagon: TCTHS Discusses Time’s “Man of the Year”

TCTHS Director David Schanzer responds to the media buzz around Edward Snowden after a U.S. district judge ruled yesterday the National Security Agency’s metadata program is unconstitutional. To see why Schanzer says “the Snowden bandwagon may be crowded these days, but there are many reasons to stay off of it,” read the full article here.

Gellman and Hayden Debate Implications of Leaking National Security Information

Photo courtesy of Duke Photography

The former director of the CIA and NSA, Gen. Michael Hayden (USAF, Ret.) and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Barton Gellman, squared off last week over the implications of national security reporting. A lively and informative debate covered ethical obligations of journalism, the need for discretion in reporting of sensitive issues, and the imperative for secrecy in protecting national security priorities. For more, watch a recording of the event on the Sanford School of Public Policy YouTube page here.

Upcoming Event: Monday, 11 November

TCTHS director David Schanzer will moderate a discussion between former director of the NSA and CIA, General Michael Hayden (USAF – Retired) and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Barton Gellman on the implications of national security leaks and the media.

White House National Security Staff Member Encourages Students to Pursue Public Service

The TCTHS hosted White House National Security Staff Member and director for Community Partnerships, George Selim, Nov. 4-5 for a series of meetings with students to discuss careers in public service. Selim encouraged students to develop their personal networks through relationships and focus on the human element of breaking into the field. In his time with students, Selim also fielded questions about his role in community engagement and outreach to which he explained the desire for and necessity of cultivating and maintaining strong relationships with communities and individuals rather than just community leaders.

9/11 and Its Aftermath Launches On Coursera

TCTHS Director David Schanzer is preparing to launch a mass online course on 9/11 and its Aftermath in September. This course will explore the forces that led to the 9/11 attacks and the policies the United States adopted in response. In the course, students will examine the phenomenon of modern terrorism, the development of the al Qai’da ideology, and the process by which individuals radicalize towards violence. For more information or to register for the course click here.

Responding to the Decision to Close US Embassies on Unspecified Terrorist Threat

August 13, 2013: TCTHS’s Bruce Jentleson and David Schanzer respond to the decision to close US embassies and consulates across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia last week due to an unspecified terrorist threat. To hear Jentleson’s and Schanzer’s comments, click here.

Photo courtesy of Reuters

TCTHS Director Comments on DHS Secretary’s Resignation

July 12, 2013: TCTHS Director David Schanzer comments on Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano’s resignation and legacy saying “she suffered a bit of a rocky start” but “enjoyed a solid tenure at the Department of Homeland Security.” To read more on Schanzer’s commentary, click here.

Recent Publications

Report shows most U.S. terrorism cases last year involved foreign fighters going to Syria(PDF)
by Charles Kurzman (UNC-Chapel Hill)
A new study prepared by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security reports that US plots remain rare and unsophisticated. Read more.